Pagina principaleGruppiConversazioniAltroStatistiche
Cerca nel Sito
Questo sito utilizza i cookies per fornire i nostri servizi, per migliorare le prestazioni, per analisi, e (per gli utenti che accedono senza fare login) per la pubblicità. Usando LibraryThing confermi di aver letto e capito le nostre condizioni di servizio e la politica sulla privacy. Il tuo uso del sito e dei servizi è soggetto a tali politiche e condizioni.

Risultati da Google Ricerca Libri

Fai clic su di un'immagine per andare a Google Ricerca Libri.

Sto caricando le informazioni...

The Lotus Palace (2013)

di Jeannie Lin

UtentiRecensioniPopolaritàMedia votiCitazioni
18612145,248 (3.85)1
It is a time of celebration in the Pingkang li, where imperial scholars and bureaucrats mingle with beautiful courtesans. At the center is the Lotus Palace, home of the most exquisite courtesans in China...   Maidservant Yue-ying is not one of those beauties.  Street-smart and practical, she's content to live in the shadow of her infamous mistress--until she meets the aristocratic playboy Bai Huang.  Bai Huang lives in a privileged world Yue-ying can barely imagine, let alone share, but as they are thrown together in an attempt to solve a deadly mystery, they both start to dream of a different life. Yet Bai Huang's position means that all she could ever be to him is his concubine-- will she sacrifice her pride to follow her heart?… (altro)
Nessuno
Sto caricando le informazioni...

Iscriviti per consentire a LibraryThing di scoprire se ti piacerà questo libro.

Attualmente non vi sono conversazioni su questo libro.

» Vedi 1 citazione

Its important to note that while this is set during the Tang Dynasty, much like Lin's other novels, this could more appropriately be considered a Historical Mystery Romance. The intrigue surrounding the deaths and threats in the Pingkang li (North Hamlet, an infamous pleasure district) are as important, if not more so, then the romance of Yue-ying and Bai Huang.

Its because of these events that the two are able to spend time together at all. Bai Huang, who is more then the affable fool he portrays, ropes Yue-ying into being his accomplice in the investigation because of her keen observational skills. The groundwork for this story--why Bai Huang is at Mingyu's (Yue-ying's mistress) parlor so constantly, how Yue-ying becomes involved through no action of her own, how the stories intertwine around each other--can all be considered a string of coincidences. What if Bai Huang did not pay court to Mingyu--would he have ever gotten involved with the second murder? What if Yue-ying refused to speak to him at all instead of indulging her curiosity? I sometimes felt as if at any moment something could (and would) keep Bai Huang and Yue-ying apart.

There's also a decided lack of judgement in this book on Bai Huang's part. Oh others judge him for the act he puts on, but he doesn't judge Mingyu for her choices or Yue-ying for her past. He is sometimes critical of their choices within the framework of the investigation--he doesn't understand Yue-ying's loyalty to Mingyu (who only seems to treat her dismissively) or Mingyu's reluctance to act in her best interests, but he doesn't judge the lives they live.

Lin is also careful to craft a happy ending for Bai Huang and Yue-ying that isn't based on because romance demands it. Whether they ended up together or not was placed entirely on whether or not the two were strong enough to take that future in their hands. They needed to be able to acknowledge things wouldn't be easy and that a compromise would have to be met.

I recommend this book to not only historical romance fans (Lin captures the dark and light of what it meant to be a courtesan of the Pingkang li with a keen eye to detail, more on this later), but also fans of a good mystery. Huang an Yue-ying make for engaging amateur detectives, and the backdrop offers a landscape rife with red herrings and possibilities.
( )
  lexilewords | Dec 28, 2023 |
This novel is a masterpiece in meshing different genres to create a cohesive story that celebrates all of its elements and holds nothing back. The historical setting is immersive and perfectly balanced. It never takes over the narrative nor does is it a vague after-thought. It's purposeful and authentic. The romance is poignant, nuanced, and rich. The mystery is gripping and perfectly paced. You never feel like one element is over-powering the other. Truly, Lin should teach a masterclass because this book is one of a kind.

Just like the Pingkang li, not everything is as it seems. Bai Huang is pretending to play the fool while he gets close to Yue-ying, a maidservant with a half-moon birthmark on her face who works at one of the establishments that houses courtesans. She is devoted to the courtesan Mingyu, who is hiding something in the wake of a fellow courtesan's murder. As Huang and Yue-ying team up to solve the mystery, they also grapple with their feelings for each other, as well as the obstacles that arise for people of their social status. It's a very realistic portrayal of an unbalanced relationship that avoids making Huang out to be a dashing rescuer and Yue-ying a passive victim of his love. She very much has her own agency, and her integrity is astounding. Lin's skilled writing makes her more than a match for Huang, so when their story finally ends in a fairy tale, it feels genuinely romantic.

The supporting cast! How could you forget them! Everyone is playing a part, and everyone is so complex. You're constantly guessing who's going to do what next. It's the perfect mystery and the perfect character study, and it's truly a feminist masterpiece, as they women avoid cliches and assert their independence at every turn. You must read this! You will be so glad you did. ( )
  readerbug2 | Nov 16, 2023 |
Tldr: Loved this story, first half more murder mystery, romance comes on in second half, a lot of underlining emotion, it's in the subtitles with this one.
I could have talked about this story forever and I kept having to go back to talk about things I missed, so this probably comes off rambling :/

*This is a TBRChallenge review, there will be spoilers, I don't spoil everything but enough, because I treat these reviews as a bookclub discussion.

The earthquake had dredged up all the hidden secrets of the quarter. Two murders, occurring so close together. One was a stranger who meant nothing to anyone except the grim-faced constable who was ruthlessly dedicated to his duties. But Huilan was well-known and beloved. Or at least she had been.

This month's TBRChallenge theme was Location, Location, Location and I immediately thought of this book that has been on my tbr since 2016. It takes place 847 AD in Tang Dynasty China and with how fascinating this story was, I need to read more books taking place during this time and place and historical romance needs to get with the program and published more. Thank you to the author for including and incorporating so much of this world. As an overall story, this is 5 stars, if I was just rating on romance, I'd probably give it 4 stars. The first half is more about setting up the murder mystery and the romance doesn't really start to get more focus until around 45%. We enter the story when an earthquake has just hit and this dislodges a small boat that has a dead body in it, no one recognizes the body and then Huilan, a favored courtesan, is strangled to death and the mystery is on.

Her fate had been decided from birth by a bright red birthmark that curved along her left cheek. The stain rendered her unsuitable for the pleasure houses, for who wished to invest time and money to train a courtesan with a ruined face? A prostitute required no such training.

The emotion in this is more underlining, subtle and not verbally spoken at times. I struggled with feeling like this had the emotions but they weren't quite reaching the depth I wanted; I kept thinking the strength of a Courtney Milan but a more surface Milan, better than the average but not hitting that peak for me. The latter second half delivered on this better for me and maybe this was planned because I started to feel them more as our lead Yue-ying started to warm up too. Yue-ying is the maidservant to Mingyu, one of the Four Beauties of the North Hamlet, also known as Pingkang Li, a pleasure district. I think it was around 40-50% that we learn that Mingyu is actually Yue-ying's older sister and that when Yue-ying was 8yrs old, a man came to their home and said that Mingyu was so gorgeous, that a nobleman would want to marry her and even though Yue-ying has a large red moon-shaped birthmark on her face, he took her too, or rather, her parents sold them to him. The sisters get separated when Mingyu goes to be taught how to be a courtesan (While scholar-gentlemen professed to be enthralled by the courtesans, ultimately these women were slaves. Despite their elevated status and illusion of independence, they were bought and sold as commodities.) and Yue-ying is put in a brothel to be forced to be a prostitute. Mingyu eventually is able to find her and buys her freedom and for the last four years Yue-ying has been her maidservant at Mingyu's place of work, The Lotus Palace. There's some vague flashbacks to this time of Yue-ying's life but it's more about the PTSD she developed, how she's more closed off, and how this affects intimacy between her and Lord Bai Huang.

Bai Huang was a well-known fixture of the entertainment district. He was a night owl, a flirt, a spendthrift and an eternal student, having failed the imperial exams three times.

Lord Bai Huang is an often visitor to Lotus and while he makes a good show of trying to win Mingyu's affections, his eyes follow Yue-ying. We kind of come in after his fascination is already developed for her, which I missed a little bit but the getting to know her and the growth with how he treats her once he keeps learning about her, more than makes up for it. Reader's learn (about 30%) before Yue-ying that his jester attitude is a bit of a put-on as he's really spying for his father, a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Defense, he's trying to get information about a General Deng (I feel like this was a character that we didn't get a great handle on) and keep a general ear to the ground as there is a new emperor and he has appointed a new magistrate, Li. People accept this role from Huang because he is a gambling addict and a couple years ago, he ran up a huge debt. His father ended up paying it for him but with some tough love, Huang ended up on a naval ship and learning some hard work. The courtesan, Huilan, who ends up being strangled had previously went to Huang and asked for his help, because of his rich nobleman status, in getting out of the North Hamlet in exchange for some important information she had but she ends up dead before he can help her. So we have secretly trying to be redeemed Huang while he is trying to figure out who murdered Huilan, spying for his father, and studying to pass the palace exams because without a jinshi degree, Huang can't hold an imperial appointment, which failure of this would be shaming his family.

The fool Bai Huang lacked shame or manners, but he made up for it with good looks and money, so he was tolerated. The girl had treated him like a sack of potatoes that night. After that, Huang had made a point of trying to catch her eye, but she couldn’t be charmed. She couldn’t be bribed. He was fascinated.

Because Yue-ying lives and works in Pingkang-Li, Huang asks for her to work with him to ferret out information and find out what had Huilan scared, wanting to leave, coming to Huang for help, and what important information she wanted to tell him. This is around 15% when they start to work together and you'll feel Huang's fascination for Yue-ying right away, he's the more lighter and open one but because of Yue-ying's past, she doesn't trust in his or her emotions. It hurts in the only way reality can with every thought Yue-ying has about their class differences and how they don't have a future, her shame of her past, and her disbelief in her physical attraction. I think because of her true relationship with Mingyu (remember, sisters) wanting to be a story secret, we don't get a feeling for their relationship in the first half. Mingyu warns Yue-ying in a protective feeling manner to be wary of Huang's feelings, she of course has her own past PTSD and experiences with men's natures but after working slightly to keep them apart, she tells Yue-ying to make her own choices and almost seems to push Yue-ying towards Huang. It begins to look like Mingyu knows something about Huilan's death and now she is scared for her and Yue-ying's safety.

“An arrest warrant has been issued for Lady Mingyu,” Wu reported. “She is to be brought in on suspicion of murder.”

After Yue-ying returns to the Lotus after a night with Huang, she discovers Mingyu gone and is obviously worried and Huang reveals that he was attacked, warned to stay out of Huilan's death, and the men threatened Yue-ying but using a nickname she had when she was a prostitute. Yue-ying agrees to stay with Huang and this is when the romance part gets more of a focus. It's hurtful emotional but I liked how the author showed Yue-ying's disconnect in the beginning of her and Huang's intimacy, she doesn't immediately accept sex just because it's Huang but it becomes a process and learning, growth, and connection for both of them (even then I thought there was a little gliding over painful pasts). Around 65% is when Yue-ying starts to be able to connect with herself and Huang in this regard.

“You’re always trying to hide this.” He stroked her cheek with his thumb and she fought hard not to flinch. People always asked if it hurt. No, it doesn’t, she’d answer. But yes. Yes, it did.

“That’s the problem with men like you. This sort of thing is a game, as if you had a right to everything in the world for your amusement.”
“I didn’t mean—”
“You only meant to tease. You have the privilege of turning everything into a jest when I’ve never had the privilege to even refuse such an act.” She hadn’t intended to become so aggravated. Bai Huang was silent beside her while she tried to calm herself.
“I didn’t consider it that way,” he said finally. She didn’t acknowledge his words. If it was an apology, and it didn’t sound like one, she wouldn’t accept it. “Have you never—?” To his credit, he continued past her cold stare. “Have you never had a kiss that you actually wanted?”
“Why would I ever want such a thing?” she replied sharply. Any man who had ever touched her had held something over her. Money or status and usually both. And always the threat of his physical strength. They hadn’t all been brutes or drunks. A few were even kind, in their own way. Most were indifferent. In many ways, a kiss was more of an invasion than a body pressing over her. It was the touching of mouths, the exchange of breath. Too much was woven into a kiss; all the senses of touch, taste and sound. There was no way for her to explain how she had been overwhelmed by it all.


I thought the author did a great job of showcasing the power dynamic between Huang and Yue-ying, this was the emotional and believable plot keeping them apart, and provided lines (the quote above) that brought some watery-eyes emotion.

The sounds on the other side of the wall had quieted. In the darkness, he touched a hand against the wood, pressing lightly as if he could reach through to the other side. To Yue-ying.

Mingyu ends up showing back up as the murder mystery starts to get unraveled and reveals are made. I feel like, before I forget, I need to quickly talk about Constable Wu, the talk, dark, man who arrests Mingyu and who she likes to push. After Yue-ying visits Mingyu in jail and then asks Wu Kaifeng to look after Mingyu and he clenches his jaw (I'm a sucker for the restrained emotion represented by a clenched a jaw) I raced to GoodReads to see if they are in the series. THEY ARE! I NEED their book, STAT.
Where was I? Oh right, the murder mystery getting unraveled, I'm not going to reveal all, specifically the who, but I am going to reveal that Mingyu was involved because she was recusing a little girl from slavers, the same kind of people who paid for Mingyu and Yue-ying.

“Mingyu didn’t take a stash of silver from the smugglers,” she concluded. “She took this child. That’s why she’s been so secretive—to protect the girl.” Because the girl was a slave. She was property and Mingyu had killed her owner and stolen her. Yue-ying felt a deep ache within her chest. She knew exactly why Mingyu had done such a thing.

Y'all, the watery-eyes at the above quote and all out catch sob at Mingyu saying: “I had to rescue her.”
It's not all blatant emotion but good god is it here. The murder mystery actually (almost) wraps-up around 80% and while this usually has me complaining about the story having a dearth ending feel, the last 20% gives us Yue-ying and Huang working for their HEA.

“I was always aware of who you were. I have to be. Look at Taizhu. Even as well respected as he is, he still feared retribution because of where he came from. One never forgets. The world does not let you forget.”

Yue-ying learns that Huang has been betrothed since childhood, which hammers home even more her belief that they will never be together forever, especially when Huang passes his exams and is about to embark on his future. There's talk of Yue-ying being his concubine but because she loves him too much, she doesn't think she can do it and this gets tied into new information that Huang learns about his mother, father, and his father's concubine; marriage and love, it contains infinite multitudes. This is a romance genre story, so never fear, Yue-ying and Huang do get their happily ever after and even though I would have loved to have seen a conversation between Huang and his mother, I liked how it all came about.

Bai Huang, the most beautiful man in the Pingkang li, was watching her and asking her with his eyes to kiss him.

There was a last second, in the last ten minutes of the story, reveal involving the murder mystery to give this a completed wrap-up feeling but I was still coasting a little high on Yue-ying getting the love she deserved to care too much. Huang was the more light-hearted of the two, obviously because of life experiences but I loved how he learned to grow in how he loved Yue-ying and I loved how the author had him understanding Yue-ying by tying it back to his father and how Huang understood “tough love”.
(Some quotes: - Her eyes were alight with mischief. Huang had the sudden urge to take hold of the trailing end of that red ribbon around her waist and reel her in close.

- He had thought he was finally getting close to Yue-ying, when he was never further away.

- He pressed a hand to his chest, looking on in wonder as she disappeared.
)

Yue-ying is the one that will crack your heart and give you that hurt-emotion that romance genre masochists like me love to read; watery-eyes, heart-clenching, but ultimately uplifting in the endurance of humans and love.
(Some quotes: - Yue-ying had no reputation to protect and her virtue was long gone. And she had given up so much more to men who had meant so much less to her. Why not someone who was well mannered and well-spoken? Who was handsome and strong and who she was growing fond of? On some tomorrow, she would be old. Bai Huang would be just a name and a memory. Mingyu had so many admirers, yet she cared little for them. Yue-ying, the girl once cruelly called Half-Moon because of her ruined face, had no such admirers. So let me have this one, she thought with an air of defiance as she returned to the Lotus Palace. Even if it is just a game to him.

- Whereas Mingyu was considered ji, an artist and entertainer, Yue-ying had been chang, nothing more than a vessel, a whore.

- “It’s your decision,” Mingyu said quietly.
“You know that’s not true. There is no decision to make.” A wealthy patron occasionally offered to pay off a courtesan’s debts to her foster mother. But Yue-ying was already free, or as free as a woman without family or means could be. Mingyu had bought her debt from the brothel to bring her here, something that a nobleman like Bai Huang would never have considered.

- “Is this love?” he asked simply. His voice was low and sensual.
“Scholars and their romantic notions,” she chided, though her heart was hammering inside her.


Magistrate Li - the young new appointee, Constable Wu (that clenched jaw currently lives rent free in my mind), Mingyu (“I had to rescue her.” SOB), Wei-wei – Huang's sister who seems headstrong and adventuress, Gao – works for a money-lender, the one who stabbed Huang when he didn't pay his gambling debt but now helps gather/works for him during the murder-mystery solving, and Zhou Dan – the Bai's manservant, were all secondary characters that I demand get their own books. And because I'm thirsty af for their stories, I went and spoiled myself with who future books are about.
- Constable Wu and Mingyu – I NEED
- Wei-wei and Gao – The f-ing way I Gasped. Y'ALL. The privileged headstrong daughter and the guy from the wrong side of the tracks that once stabbed her older brother. WANT
- Magistrate Li and Song Yi – I don't think we meet Song Yi in this? Or wait, was she the one who took Huilan's place?

Anyway, sorry to my book club because the way I'm going to keep nominating these books until we've all read them. ( )
  WhiskeyintheJar | Apr 20, 2022 |
This hero was so sweet, and the interactions super lovely and satisfying.

But the external factors lined up against yue-ying & Bai Huang were... a lot. So why the mystery, essentially because it just pulled me out of their little cocoon every time.

3.5, rounded up. I should not have waited so long to read Jeannie Lin. ( )
  samnreader | Dec 15, 2020 |
hell yah!!! jeannie lin is such a good author adsfsghdg

i read this in two days. it was so good. so compelling wowowow. the main protagonists were wonderful. i already want to read another one of hers. this was so much fun. murder!! mystery!! luxury!! detail!! thank u jeannie lin ( )
  lydia1879 | Feb 1, 2020 |
nessuna recensione | aggiungi una recensione

Appartiene alle Serie

Devi effettuare l'accesso per contribuire alle Informazioni generali.
Per maggiori spiegazioni, vedi la pagina di aiuto delle informazioni generali.
Titolo canonico
Dati dalle informazioni generali inglesi. Modifica per tradurlo nella tua lingua.
Titolo originale
Titoli alternativi
Data della prima edizione
Personaggi
Luoghi significativi
Dati dalle informazioni generali inglesi. Modifica per tradurlo nella tua lingua.
Eventi significativi
Dati dalle informazioni generali inglesi. Modifica per tradurlo nella tua lingua.
Film correlati
Epigrafe
Dedica
Incipit
Citazioni
Ultime parole
Nota di disambiguazione
Redattore editoriale
Elogi
Lingua originale
DDC/MDS Canonico
LCC canonico

Risorse esterne che parlano di questo libro

Wikipedia in inglese

Nessuno

It is a time of celebration in the Pingkang li, where imperial scholars and bureaucrats mingle with beautiful courtesans. At the center is the Lotus Palace, home of the most exquisite courtesans in China...   Maidservant Yue-ying is not one of those beauties.  Street-smart and practical, she's content to live in the shadow of her infamous mistress--until she meets the aristocratic playboy Bai Huang.  Bai Huang lives in a privileged world Yue-ying can barely imagine, let alone share, but as they are thrown together in an attempt to solve a deadly mystery, they both start to dream of a different life. Yet Bai Huang's position means that all she could ever be to him is his concubine-- will she sacrifice her pride to follow her heart?

Non sono state trovate descrizioni di biblioteche

Descrizione del libro
Riassunto haiku

Discussioni correnti

Nessuno

Copertine popolari

Link rapidi

Voto

Media: (3.85)
0.5
1 2
1.5
2
2.5 1
3 8
3.5 4
4 13
4.5 1
5 11

Sei tu?

Diventa un autore di LibraryThing.

 

A proposito di | Contatto | LibraryThing.com | Privacy/Condizioni d'uso | Guida/FAQ | Blog | Negozio | APIs | TinyCat | Biblioteche di personaggi celebri | Recensori in anteprima | Informazioni generali | 203,228,852 libri! | Barra superiore: Sempre visibile